Everyone should read @FredClarkson's new piece in @Salon where he examines a 50-state series of New Apostolic Reformation prayer calls & the NAR fixation with Pennsylvania in particular. salon.com/2023/06/17/unf… Just to connect a few dots... 1/
The prayer calls were convened by Clay Nash, an apostle in Dutch Sheets' Network Ekklesia Int'l. claynash.org/prayercallreco… Interestingly, Clay Nash was a member of Sheets' post-2020 election prayer & prophecy tour (see Charismatic Revival Fury, ep. 5. podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/cha…) 2/
In fact, during the #January6thInsurrection, Dutch Sheets was on a prayer conference call organized by Nash along with 4000 other prayer warriors, actively watching the rioting & gloatingly prophesying about God's plans for America that would emerge from the rioting. 4/
Simultaneous to this Nash conf. call, Cindy Jacobs & Becca Greenwood were at the Capitol leading strategic spiritual warfare during the riot. They even called Sheets to have him pray via speakerphone, so he had to step away from the Nash call. facebook.com/womenforagreat… (16:00ff) 5/
Iowa State Rep. Luana Stoltenberg, who is mentioned in the article, was also there at the Capitol with Cindy Jacobs & Becca Greenwood. Likewise, Tom Schlueter (also referenced in the article) a Texas apostle, was part of Dutch Sheets' swing-state prayer team. 6/
So kudos to @FredClarkson for a solid piece of reporting tracking what these same New Apostolic Reformation & #January6th leaders are doing today. I'm very concerned about the high-boil of violent rhetoric we continue to hear from this group. We've seen where that leads... 7/
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With all due respect to @jennycohn1, I have to disagree with, or at least nuance, this point. The distinction she's drawing here is not how core New Apostolic Reformation leaders think. They wouldn't draw such a sharp line between "apostle" & "prophet."
While NAR leaders (& other Charismatics) embrace the 5-fold ministry concept (from interpreting Ephesians 4:11) they actually have elaborate ways of combining & mixing these gifts. C. Peter Wagner sometimes called this phenomena "hyphenated gifts." e-a-l.eu/leadership/rea… 2/
When I'm presenting on Independent Charismatics & the Trump Admin, I frequently get asked (by ppl w/ little experience in this arena): Why does anyone join these churches? Well, I strongly recommend watching the new FX #SecretsOfHillsong documentary. 1/
The series (3 of 4 episodes have aired so far) tracks the implosion of #Hillsong, a globally networked, massive Independent Charismatic church originating in Australia. themonthly.com.au/issue/2023/feb…@ellehardy has also done some excellent journalism on Hillsong's inner workings. 2/
While my own research focuses on the New Apostolic Reformation – another influential Independent Charismatic network that was instrumental to the US Capitol Riot – the Hillsong documentary is great at capturing the magnetic qualities of these churches. icjs.org/charismatic-re… 3/
For all the silly drama with Twitter rumors about Sean Feucht & Lauren Boebert's affair (show me a shred of evidence!), I think the more significant Feucht-related development this week was his mostly overlooked effort to create a new prophetic meme: facebook.com/sean.feucht/vi… 1/
Worth noting: Charisma News (Steve Strang's Charismatic media empire & the major "news" organ of the Independent Charismatic world) picked up Feucht's claims about an open vision regarding personal revival & wrote it up as an article: charismamag.com/propheticreviv… 2/
I've argued before that these "prophetic memes" are the coin of the land in Independent Charismatic celebritydom. All the prophets & prophetic people are trying to gain fame through their oracular insights into God's mind. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cha… 3/
It's an important but thorny question from @KnudstrupJulie as to whether to call Bethel Church in Redding part of the New Apostolic Reformation. The waters have been muddied by the dynamic of critics very broadly applying the label "NAR" hither & yon. Here are my thoughts. 1/
I'll also note that I realize my approach is out of step with many other NAR watchers, so I'm ready for my rhetorical drubbing... First, the term "NAR" (Why do people say "nahr"?) is highly polarizing today, so those who might have self-applied it a decade ago avoid it now. 2/
On the question of Bethel Redding, this is even more complicated by the popular but disjointed labeling done by Pivec & Geivett that attempts to put Bethel at the heart of the NAR, so that Bethel's ideas/practices become definitional to the NAR. 3/
For those tracking the New Apostolic Reformation (& Charismatic/Apostolic-Prophetic/Fivefold Christianity as a whole), I commend this article by @reb_hopkins (in @reachjulieroys) about abusive leadership at the former Anaheim Vineyard. julieroys.com/exclusive-form… 1/
For those not tracking the ins & outs of this, here's a quick refresher: The Anaheim Vineyard was John Wimber's church & the iconic, flagship Vineyard church during Wimber's career. Some Vineyard folk used to affectionately call it "the mothership" mainandplain.com/wimber-me-how-… 2/
Wimber, a former member of the Righteous Brothers band, was a guiding light in the Charismatic world of the 1970s to 1990s. In Charismatic Revival Fury, I show how he taught w/ C. Peter Wagner at Fuller Seminary, & midwifed Wagner's late-career pivot. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cha… 3/
These comments from Roger Stone at the Pastors for Trump/ReAwaken event at Trump's Doral resort this week are very important. For those who don't speak "Independent Charismatic," allow me to translate. Stone is claiming a prophetic destiny based on a prophecy from Kim Clement. 1/
Kim Clement passed away in 2016 (here's a tribute from the Christian music artist Carman facebook.com/CarmanLicciard…), but before that, he was the *original* Trump prophet. He was a South African Charismatic prophet, with a real dramatic flair - synth music, rambling, etc. 2/
Clement was part of Cindy Jacobs' Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders, a core New Apostolic Reformation institution that C. Peter Wagner superintended. elijahlist.com/words/display_… He rubbed shoulders with & was close to Lance Wallnau, Dutch Sheets, Lou Engle – the whole crowd. 3/